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Smoke Test Landing Page

entrepreneurship · easy · 1 day to build, 1 week to run ads

What is Smoke Test Landing Page?

Create a landing page describing a product that doesn't exist yet and measure real demand through signups or pre-orders. If strangers won't give you their email for a promise, they definitely won't give you their money for a product. The cheapest form of market validation.

Is there evidence for it?

EVIDENCEstrong

How do you do Smoke Test Landing Page?

  1. 1.Build a simple landing page with a clear headline, 3 bullet benefits, and one call-to-action (email signup or pre-order)
  2. 2.Drive targeted traffic using $50-100 in ads on Facebook, Google, or Reddit targeting your ideal customer
  3. 3.Track conversion rate — email signups above 10% or pre-orders above 2% indicate real demand
  4. 4.Follow up with signups via email to do customer development interviews
  5. 5.If conversion is below threshold after 200+ visitors, rewrite the value prop or pivot the idea entirely

How long does it take?

1 day to build, 1 week to run ads.

Is it hard to start?

easy.

Source: Tim Ferriss — The 4-Hour Workweek (2007); Eric Ries — The Lean Startup
validation · landing-page · ads · pre-selling · conversion
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